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For the past 18 months Gene has been making the Costco runs. I have not gone, because we usually get the same things, and I go off to other chores. This time I needed a few things that I knew he might have a hard time finding, so away we go on Friday. I think everybody and their cousin had the same idea. What happened to the 10:00 a.m. business membership group? They were not checking for business memberships.

I was blown away with the amount of space they have given to fresh foods, prepared foods and seafood. It has encroached into the area for books, clothes, etc. We wandered up and down the aisles looking at things and my mouth dropped open to see "hard boiled eggs" packaged in the prepared foods section. Gasp! They had a fine selection of wild caught seafood versus farmed and it was all clearly marked. I'm not into prepared foods, so I quickly bypassed it all, yet noticing the many offerings available. A huge fresh produce room has been added, with boxes and boxes of fresh produce of all types. It was so cold in there, I chose to leave quickly as I had all my veggies for the week.

Costco has purchased/leased (?) property north of town, just off I-5 for a much larger store, (the one we have now is huge) plus gas/tire and I am not sure what else.

I bought a rotisserie chicken (which they have always had), and noticed fresh shrimp marinated in fresh lime and cilantro...both were excellent. Amazing what can happen over an 18 month time span. The selections were almost overwhelming. Unlike me, I picked up a container of apple strudel bars. We froze them....then next morning I popped one into the microwave and it came out fresh, oozy and the apples still had crunch. Something I would never make and it was delicious.

I must say I am looking forward to the new Costco for more surprises. Any new items from the Costo in your area, that we should look for?

No good news here. In spite of our proximity to Costco ground zero (Kirkland, WA, that is), Washington Costcos overall reflect a certain Washingtonian lack of adventurousness and frugality toward food. And though Seattle fares much better than we do up here two hours away and adjacent to the Canadian border (sales to Canadians accounts for about half our Costco's revenue), our stores offer really basic stuff compared to, say, the Costco in well-heeled Westlake Village that we shop at with friends nearly every time we go to Southern California. That place is a wonderland. The only change in ten years I've seen at our Costco is the building of a huge walk-in dairy section--this Costco sells more milk than any other Costco in the nation--seriously, it's #1 in that department. But other than that we eventually got prime beef (though that hasn't been constant and I'm not sure we still do get it), I can't think of one other change in ten years that's notable among things I buy except that the prosciutto packages, though the same supplier/brand, now have less prosciutto in them than they used to. Not an improvement!

People who shop the ready-made departments that I tend to skip might know of improvements I wouldn't, but the floorspace hasn't changed so if there are exciting new products at our local Costco, then they're the result of replacement and not expansion like what you're seeing.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

David M. Bueker wrote:10 AM business memberships? My local Costco scrapped separate entrance times about 2 weeks after it opened.

For those who complain about a lack of adventurous selecitons - please try the Enfield, CT Costco. We're lucky they even stock vegetables. The place is basically Shop Rite with bigger packaging.

Not here, we have a business membership and for as many years as I can remember, going at 10 am was great. In fact even arriving at 10 am we would see folks already coming out with huge piles of stuff on carts to load up. I think they let the restaurant, small grocery stores in even earlier. But like I said, it has been a long time since I've accompanied Gene to Costco. Obviously by the amount of people there at 9:45 am when we arrived, the business membership entrance time is gone. Al least they went with the 10am time and not 11 am for the regular memberships. It gets very hot here in the summers and the 11 am time was grueling to many.

I really like our Costco (Vineyard Road, Edison NJ). They have always had wine, and there are always interesting choices. Years ago when I first joined you could find good Bordeaux at crazy prices. Not any more. But a few years ago they added prime beef and if you pick and choose you can get some really nice marbling in the steaks they offer -- NY Strip and Rib-eye. Meat is regional and I long for a source of Tri-tip, which you left coasters seem to find everywhere.

Anyway. The Rotisserie chicken is always cheap and good -- we get a couple of good meals and then make wonderful chicken soup from what's left. Sometimes there are surprises in the mushrooms -- chanterelles, cheap, and other things. I regularly buy pork tenderloins, they come in 2 packs which turns out to be 4 packs. Marinated and cooked on the grill, just scrumptious. The boned leg of lamb (New Zealand?) tastes great however we cook it.

But I don't know what's new and different, I've been buying most of this stuff for a few years now. Oh, the Kirkland dated Tuscan olive oil is quite nice and very fresh. The new October 2013 batch just hit the shelves a few weeks ago. Worth a try. Green but not too peppery. Californians may prefer their local stuff, Tuscan is good for me.

One nice surprise a while back -- they have tubs of Clam Chowder and it's better than any of the canned stuff IMO. But you have to buy a lot. Best if you are serving a party. The Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps are absolutely a staple at our house. I buy 3 big bags at a time. There is nothing better with Brie but they are good with everything. Look for blue in the chip aisle. The Genova Tonno -- Italian style tuna -- is luxurious but weight watchers is making me buy the water packed stuff now. Honestly a can of Genova Tonno mixed with some cannelini beans and onion and olive oil is a very fine lunch salad.

Every time we went to 'save money' we ended up spending far more than if we'd just paid the rate at the local market for smaller portions. I recall one particular gallon of sauerkraut that wouldn't fit in the fridge but that someone couldn't bring herself to jettison - kraut palls quickly when you have it for every meal.....

Every time we went to 'save money' we ended up spending far more than if we'd just paid the rate at the local market for smaller portions. I recall one particular gallon of sauerkraut that wouldn't fit in the fridge but that someone couldn't bring herself to jettison - kraut palls quickly when you have it for every meal.....

You have to be judicious (she says to the lawyer--ha!). There are a lot of things I or any two person household just can't buy there because of the quantitative packaging. You either can't use it up in time, or lack room to store redundants (you in particular have that problem, though there's always the laundry room!)--like your kraut. But with a little impulse control, one can settle into a nice routine where certain useful items really do save you real money. The excellent EV Tuscan olive oil Frank described, fresh parmesan reggiano, prosciutto, and fresh avocadoes are four things I buy on every trip. The meats are also exemplary and useful--I can't get lamb as good as Costco's Australian imports here in Bellingham. "Every trip", by the way, is governed by whenever we get close to running out of toilet paper, paper towels, or cat litter. We reload on all three at the same time, which means we show up every 8 or 10 weeks.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov